While Puerto Rico is an island rich in culture and natural beauty, its future forever changed on September 20, 2017. When Hurricane Maria hit landfall on this 3,515 mi² island, the powerful storm destroyed the vast majority of Puerto Rican infrastructure, leaving almost the entire population destitute, with no access to clean water, food, medicine electricity and means of communication.
The island suffered an estimated $94 billion worth of damage, a sum insurmountable for their already indebted government. While Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, making its inhabitants legal US citizens, the relief efforts from the US were slow-moving and lacking. Even now, more than five months after the storm, a large part of the island still does not have electricity and limited access to water.
While the storm has undoubtedly changed the course of Puerto Rico’s future, its youngest citizens are perhaps those most affected. Thousands of students were left without schools, let alone electricity. According to the Department of Education, an estimated six percent of Puerto Rican students have had to leave the island in order to pursue their education, as many schools are only open part-time, while some have been made into community centers. As students ourselves, we cannot stand by while our Puerto Rican citizens suffer and have to leave their homes in order to continue their studies. For this reason, we have decided to launch this fundraiser and donate to the Hispanic Federation.